


Hallway Girl

by starswholisten



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Modern AU, tropey trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 03:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10296596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starswholisten/pseuds/starswholisten
Summary: Prompt: ‘i offer you my bed to sleep in bc our respective roommates are getting it on in your room and take the sofa to sleep on only i wake up back in my bed with your tiny body wrapped around me and damn me if it isn’t the cutest thing i’ve ever seen’ au + NessianNesta sits sexiled in the hallway as Mor and Az do it in her room. Enter Cassian. Total sass.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nessian_is_fire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nessian_is_fire/gifts).



> Prompt: ‘i offer you my bed to sleep in bc our respective roommates are getting it on in your room and take the sofa to sleep on only i wake up back in my bed with your tiny body wrapped around me and damn me if it isn’t the cutest thing i’ve ever seen’ au
> 
> I know you didn't ask for this Maggie but I did it anyway.

When Nesta came home from her late night chemistry lab, soaking wet from the snow storm that was raging outside, she was not pleased to find the air freshener on the doorknob of her dorm room.

Not. Pleased.

Because that was their “sign”. Not that Nesta had ever used it, but Mor insisted that it was less conspicuous than a sock. Nesta thought that was complete and utter bullshit, especially when she could hear Mor and Azriel very, _very_ clearly, even from three doors down the hallway.

Why tonight? Nesta had been in lab for nearly four hours, hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and needed a hot shower. She had left her headphones in the dorm room. Her phone was dead, anyway, so it didn’t matter. And to top it all off, she had a quiz in the morning that she hadn’t started studying for, because she was hoping her school would cancel for the snow. They hadn’t. And all she wanted was her favorite sweatpants, a steaming mug of tea, and her bed. But _noooo_ , Mor and her stupid boyfriend just had to decide that tonight, of all nights, they should use Mor's room instead of his to have sex. Perfect.

Nesta released a frustrated groan as she slumped against the wall and sat on the floor of the dorm hallway, defeated. She would just have to wait it out until she could go back into her own room without being traumatized.

Unzipping her backpack with as much animosity as she could muster, Nesta glared at her dorm door as she took out her laptop and books. If she was going to be stuck out here, she might as well study.

“Fuck you, Mor,” she grumbled, slamming a textbook on the ground.

Suddenly, the door beside her cracked open and Nesta groaned again. She rolled her eyes before she looked up at the amused smirk of that incredibly infuriating face that the gods somehow decided to punish her with having the misfortune of living next to.

“I believe Azriel is already doing that."

And just when Nesta thought it couldn’t get any worse, Cassian stepped out of his own room and leaned against the door frame to face her. Nesta scowled at him, not daring to show her humiliation that he had caught her sexiled from her room.

“Why aren’t they in _your_ room? Is your ego too big for all of you to share?” Nesta retorted, narrowing her eyes at Azriel’s roommate and feeling extremely and utterly _pissed off_ that he was smirking down at her, freshly showered, wearing what looked like a very comfortable sweatshirt, with his entire, spacious dorm to himself. She tried to ignore that the sweatshirt was unzipped just slightly to show off the tattoos on his chest and had to remind herself how annoyed she was before looking away sharply, dismissing him entirely.

He only chuckled and stepped completely out of his room, sitting down against his shut door to join her. “I was home, you weren’t. They made a logical conclusion, I’d say."

Nesta shifted away from him. “Did I say you could join me?"

“No,” Cassian mused, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied her. “But I’ve been in this situation, and I know it helps to have company."

Nesta scoffed. “I’m studying,” she replied dismissively.

“Really,” he replied blithely, setting her teeth on edge. “I would bank on a snow day. Those two-” he said, gesturing to her door, “-certainly are."

Nesta couldn’t bank on a snow day. She needed to ace this quiz, and every quiz, if she wanted to keep the scholarship she was relying on to be at Prythian University. Her family certainly couldn’t afford the tuition, not with their father out of work and their sixteen year old sister picking up the slack.

But what would a pig-headed fraternity boy know about financial hardship, or good grades? She shot him a glare before she opened her textbook, blatantly ignoring him for several minutes. She read and re-read words that weren’t registering in her brain as he continued to watch her. Frustrated, Nesta whipped her head up to pierce him with a glare that - _damn him_ \- only made his smirk more pronounced. “Can I help you?"

Shaking his head, Cassian stood up and made to go back into his room. Good riddance. But the prick, he stopped as he placed his hand on the doorknob and looked down at her again. A strand of his long, black hair slid over his face and Nesta watched its path as it landed just over his forehead. “Need a snack?"

“What?” Nesta hadn’t been expecting that. Or she’d been distracted.

She could tell that he had caught her off guard, and Nesta’s temper rose. “They’ll be at it for a while. I have popcorn, granola bars, apples-"

“I’m fine,” she snapped, maybe a bit too harshly, but she didn’t care. She just wanted Cassian to leave her alone to wallow in all her sexiled misery and let her study.

He nodded. “Let me know if you change your mind, sweetheart."

Cassian shut his door before Nesta had a chance to retort at that stupid nickname. She huffed indignantly in frustration, and she could swear she heard him chuckle behind the door.

Fifteen minutes later, her stomach began to growl. Insistently.

 _Shit_. When was the last time she ate? Lunchtime? It was far past 11pm at this point, and she was never going to be able to focus if she was hungry. But she would _not_ ask Cassian, not if it was the last thing she did. Nesta dug her phone out of her backpack, determined to order a pizza, when she remembered it was dead.

A giggle erupted from behind her own dorm room door and she kicked at the floor in frustration.

In a moment, as if summoned by some higher power that was surely determined to spite her, Cassian’s door opened and there was that stupid face again. “I hear some commotion out here, is everything alr-"

“An apple,” Nesta said through gritted teeth, burying her pride deep, deep down where it couldn’t mock her for succumbing to this hunger. “And a granola bar or two, if you have them."

Cassian raised a brow and grinned and Nesta willed herself to stay calm, to resist the urge to smack the grin right off of his face. A few moments passed with Cassian staring at her, and her patience thinned faster with every passing second.

Finally, Cassian said, “What’s the magic word?"

“Oh, for fuck’s sake-"

He clicked his tongue at her as if he welcomed her impending wrath. “Such a shame, I have at least four different kinds of granola bars to choose from."

_God, give me strength._

As he began to shut the door, Nesta mumbled, “Please. Please, okay? Is your ego satisfied?"

Cassian smirked. “Very."

In a moment, he returned with four granola bars, two apples, and a bag of popcorn. And sat down next to her. Again. He opened the popcorn and offered it to her.

If this was the price she had to pay for a few snacks, someone was surely trying to test her.

But she was hungry, so she relented, digging her hand into the bag without looking at him and pulling out a fistful of popcorn.

They sat in silence for a while, sharing the snacks as Nesta continued to study and Cassian scrolled on his phone. Late as it was, the hallway was empty but for them and the occasional stray student walking to the bathroom at the end of the hall. It was almost comfortable. As much as she hated to admit it, Nesta felt a lot less self-conscious sitting in the hallway with someone. It almost looked like they were purposefully hanging out there. After a bit, Nesta forgot to wonder at why Cassian was still sitting there with her, and actually managed to be incredibly productive in her studying.

At midnight, the lights in the hallway dimmed, and Nesta angled her laptop screen at her book to illuminate the pages. Cassian glanced at her and chuckled. Then, he tapped her on the shoulder. Like a child.

“What."

“I’m going in to watch a movie or something. If you want better light, you can feel free to join me in there.” He pointed a thumb back at the door he leaned on. Nesta yawned in an utter betrayal of her own body, at exactly the same time that her room emitted a smattering of sounds that sounded like they were coming from an X rated movie.

He quirked an eyebrow at the door before looking back at her just as she yawned again. Likely noting her descent into exhaustion, Cassian added, “or if you’re done studying and need a place to stay tonight-"

Turning her head abruptly, Nesta glared at him. If this was just some convoluted way of getting her into his bed, if he thought she was going to be _that_ easy-

“I don’t mean anything,” he retorted as if reading her mind, putting his hands up in surrender. “But the offer is there, if you want.” He paused, taking in her narrow-eyed, skeptical face, and that infuriating grin returned. “Not that I would be opposed to _anything_ -"

Nesta rolled her eyes, too tired to deal with him. “You wish. I need to keep studying for this quiz. And I can see just fine."

Casian nodded. “Let me know if you change your mind,” he said, and with a mumbled good luck, he stood and went back into his room. Nesta had to bite her tongue to keep from thanking him for keeping her company and feeding her, but she’d already broken down enough walls for him tonight.

She continued to study, squinting at the words in her textbook and struggling to keep the light of her screen on both the book and her notes. The wind outside rattled the walls, and Nesta said a silent prayer for the snow to save her from this quiz. Mutely, she heard a television turn on from behind Cassian’s door, but it wasn’t loud enough for it to distract her.

Half an hour later, just as Nesta was about to start studying her final chapter, Cassian’s door cracked open. “Since your phone is dead, I figured I’d let you know that we just got the alert. Snow day tomorrow."

 _Thank the gods_. Nesta shut her textbook abruptly and rested her head back against the wall, sighing in relief.

“Don’t be too relieved, I’m sure they’ll be celebrating all night,” Cassian nodded toward her door. “Have you reconsidered my offer?"

Nesta scowled. “I’m not sleeping in your room, Cassian."

“Nesta,” he pleaded, turning to face her. “You can’t sleep in the hallway. First of all, this floor is not meant for sleeping. It’s hard and covered in dirt. And secondly, it’s against the dorm rules. At least come in and watch a movie to kill some time before Az and Mor decide to go to sleep."

Tempting as a movie sounded… “I’ll live. Goodnight, Cassian.” She made a show of arranging her backpack as a pillow and lay down, reveling in the annoyance that now graced his stupid face.

Cassian closed the door, and she almost thought she had won the battle when he emerged moments later with a pillow. She was entirely too exhausted to refuse him. Nesta accepted it wordlessly and he retreated back to his room, leaving her in the darkness of the hallway.

After five minutes, Nesta was already breaking. As much as she hated to admit it… Cassian was right. It wouldn’t be the first time if she saw a cockroach scatter across the floor tonight, and there was no way she wouldn’t be found by an RA and thought to be passed out drunk. She had a reputation to uphold.

And maybe Mor and Az would be done soon… and maybe they wouldn’t. She couldn’t sit out here with a dead phone and a nearly dead laptop and expect herself to stay awake.

His light was still on. If her suspicions were correct, he was probably listening for the door to see if she would break. She so, so badly wanted to prove the insufferable bastard wrong.

But even though her pride would be shot to hell, she stood up, collecting her things, and knocked lightly on his door. As expected, it opened immediately. “Can I help you?” Cassian quipped, echoing her earlier commentary, and she crossed her arms in front of her. “Did someone change her mind?"

“Just let me in, _sweetheart_."

Cassian snorted in a way that was both amused and surprised, waiting for a moment to see if Nesta was serious. He then stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter the room. She resisted the urge to bump his shoulder on the way in.

To Nesta’s surprise, this room was surprisingly clean. The floor was immaculately tidy and the air smelled faintly of pine. One bed was made, not a corner out of place, and it stood pressed against the far wall on the dark side of the room. Azriel’s bed, then. The other bed was mostly made but for a wrinkle in the center of the comforter, where Nesta could assume Cassian and only just been sitting. There was a window just above his bed, and Nesta could see snow blowing insistently to add to the already several inches of snow on the ground. Cassian’s laptop was perched on his desk, a paused movie on the screen.

“I can stay on the floor if-"

“I’m just here to kill time. Until they go to sleep,” she knocked lightly on the wall that separated their rooms. “I’m not staying here.” And with that, she threw her backpack on the ground and promptly plopped herself into his desk chair, arms folded across her chest.

Cassian smirked in reply, amused and annoying and insufferable, and resumed his place on his bed. He patted the space beside him, and Nesta tried not to notice the way his arm muscles flexed in that movement. “If you’re here to stay a while, would you care to join me in watching a movie?"

Nesta scowled. “I’m not sitting on that bed."

He raised his brows in a way that said _suit yourself_ and he leaned over to play the movie. Nesta leaned her head on a hand and looked around the room, studying the simple decor and the fraternity paraphernalia on both sides of the room as subtly as she could, before becoming distracted by the sounds she recognized coming from his computer.

That score. She would know that score anywhere.

He was watching Harry Potter. The first one. _That bastard_. Nesta would never admit it to anyone but she loved those movies, couldn’t resist quoting them. Nesta glared at the space beside him, trying to think of the best way to avoid the subject, but Cassian was grinning at the screen as if he noticed her recognition, but wasn’t saying anything to acknowledge it.

So Nesta continued to rest her head on her hand and closed her eyes, opting instead to listen to the movie, and almost felt content with it as she pictured the film in her own head.

“You’re mouthing the words."

Her eyes flew open. “Excuse me?"

Cassian looked like he was about to combust into laughter. Those hazel eyes shone with mischief, the gold in them much more prominent in the semi-dark, and she had to look away. “You just mouthed the words. ‘Troll in the dungeon. Thought you ought to know.’"

Nesta scoffed. “I did not."

“Whatever you say sweetheart."

“Why do you call me that?” Nesta demanded suddenly, standing from the chair. “You barely know me. Is it a condescension thing?"

Cassian knitted his eyebrows together. He almost looked… pained. Confused. “Not at all. I just think it suits you.”

Nesta blinked. She didn’t know when her heart had started beating so hard, but she hated it. Cassian offered no further explanation, but their eyes remained locked for a few moments before Nesta tore hers from his, stomped over to the bed, and hopped up next to him without a single word. Cassian’s smirk had returned in full force. He watched her as she settled in, eyebrows raised at the amount of space she had put between them.

Without looking at him, Nesta replied, “I can’t resist a good Harry Potter movie, okay? Shift the laptop closer."

“Or _you_ could just come closer-“ He stopped speaking at Nesta’s glare and, wisely, moved his computer so she could see it better. She offered him a small smile in thanks, and Nesta could have sworn his face lit up. Her heart was still racing.

Watching Harry Potter with him was… entertaining, to say the least. He knew all the words too, and hummed the soundtrack absentmindedly with what Nesta could tell was a very good voice. They both called out her favorite line at the same time - _“Not me, not Hermione, you!"_ \- and Nesta found herself laughing, _actually_ laughing, before realizing she’d somehow ended up beside him with their legs just touching.

At the end, Nesta closed her eyes as Cassian began to hum the final song, and she felt surprisingly peaceful. She didn’t realize how tired she was, and didn’t realize when her head began to loll to the side and she slipped slowly and blissfully into sleep, Hedwig’s Theme playing softly in her head.

Cassian was nearly asleep himself when her head fell to his shoulder, and he barely registered it other than thinking that her hair smelled like cinnamon.

\--------

It was early when Cassian woke, the sun just rising and the light waking him softly. It took him a minute to realize he wasn’t alone.

Nesta Archeron was curled into his side. In his bed. Clutching him, cuddling his arm with her head resting on his chest and her golden brown hair fanned out around her. And _gods_ , she had a small, peaceful smile on her face.

If Cassian didn’t already have a huge crush on this girl, he certainly did now.

But what would Nesta think when she woke up in his bed? She certainly hadn’t meant to sleep here. But it had been late when the movie ended, and they had both been tired, and it had just… happened.

He should move to Azriel’s bed. He really should. Nesta was going to freak out when she woke up.

But she was… cuddling him. And he didn’t want to wake her on a snow day.

So Cassian simply brushed her hair to the side and closed his eyes, falling back to sleep in peaceful bliss.

\--------

Nesta woke up the next morning and nearly jumped with the realization of where she was and what she had done.

Immediately, she’d rolled out of bed - _Cassian’s_ bed, _fuck_ \- and had exited the room in a rush that set her heart racing.

But all day, Nesta couldn’t get the thought out of her head - he’d been so _warm_ , so _comfortable_ \- and she almost regretted leaving as much as she regretted ever going into his room in the first place.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this fic title is a pun for a certain Ed Sheeran song.


End file.
